The double standards of Dharamsala

The Tibetan leadership cannot seem to make up their minds about their stance towards China. On one hand, they say that the Chinese leadership are the root of all their problems. On the other hand, they say a “One China” policy can help their cause. Yet it was this same policy that is supposed to be the root of all their problems. The Tibetan leadership’s incredible double standards extends to the point they will say anything just to ensure they stay on their donor’s good side (in this case Donald Trump), even if it means undermining what the Tibetan people have struggled for, for 60 years.

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to [email protected].

By: Solaray Kusco

Few communities in the world are as closely associated with the words ‘refugee’ and ‘human rights’ as the Tibetans. Their struggle over the last 60 years has seen them become the ultimate example of what it means to be a highly visible, well-publicised refugee community. Thanks to the power of celebrity supporters like Richard Gere and Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys, those who are not familiar with Buddhism, or who have no idea where Tibet is, will still have some inkling about the so-called Tibetan plight.

The Tibetan leadership travels around the world begging various foreign governments for funds, while they parade His Holiness the Dalai Lama to various sponsored events to charm people into donating to the Tibetan leadership. But where do all of these funds go and what are they used for? The Tibetan settlements are full of ornate temples and richly-decorated altars, while the Tibetan people beg the world for donations when their livelihoods are destroyed, as in the case of the fire at the Lal Qilla Tibetan sweater market.

But while the outside world has one view of the Tibetans, those who know the real story see a very different picture. Because while the average Tibetan may be struggling for their everyday needs, in reality their leadership is not. And while there were many positives to Tibetan society, for example the activities of the great monasteries, there are also many terrible and uncomfortable truths.

One such ugly truth is that pre-1959 Tibet was a class-driven society. Outside of the monasteries, people were divided into nobles and peasants, and the nobles wielded far greater power than the average Tibetan could ever dream of. Theirs was a life of wealth and leisure, reinforced by a manipulated interpretation of the Buddha’s teachings on karma. That is, if you were born a peasant, it was your karma and thus your lot in life and how others treat you should be accepted. This class system has carried over into post-1959 Tibetan society, and today it is played out in India in the foothills of the Himalayas.

High up in Dharamsala, the Tibetan leadership continue to exist in a kind of privileged world that few, if any, outsiders ever get to see. The rules that are imposed on their people do not apply to them and as a result, 60 years of unchecked behavior has resulted in a Tibetan society with more divisions, inequalities and double standards than ever before.

[1] Passport Issue

The recent passport debacle is one such example of this inequality. To travel around the world, Tibetans have a yellow refugee book (Tibetan: deb serpo) issued to them by the Indian government. Upon arriving at their destination, this book informs immigration that the bearer is a Tibetan refugee and protectorate of India. It has however, become increasingly difficult to travel on the yellow book as fewer countries are willing to accept it as a legitimate travel document. Accepting it as a legal document is indirect recognition of the existence of a separate Tibetan nation, and hence more countries are unwilling to accept it due to the risk of upsetting China.

Therefore, because of the travel limitations associated with the yellow book, Tibetans have been pushing to receive Indian passports to expand their ability to travel. And they were successful in their campaign. Recently, it was announced that Tibetans born between January 1950 and July 1987 will be eligible for an Indian passport but they will have to meet certain requirements. These include moving out from the Tibetan settlements and giving up one’s Tibetan refugee papers. The Indian government’s reason for the requirements was very simple – according to the Indian Constitution, those who bear an Indian passport are not allowed to have dual citizenship. Hence, carrying a yellow refugee book to identify oneself as Tibetan, whilst simultaneously carrying an Indian passport is a breach of the Indian Constitution. To hold an Indian passport also means the bearer becomes an Indian citizen, thereby making it illegal and illogical for them to stay in the refugee-only Tibetan settlements.

There was an uproar as a result of this announcement. People who agreed with the requirements were accused of being anti-Tibetan and too eager to give up their Tibetan identity (whatever that may be). The Indian government was accused of being unfair…this despite India giving a home to the Tibetans for 60 years! The irony is that this uproar has not been directed at the Tibetan leadership when the majority of them are either foreign citizens or carry two passports. The Tibetan leaders themselves have remained silent on this issue, afraid to draw attention to their illegal activities. Of course they would be embarrassed that while they have the freedom to travel (due to possessing more than one passport), their fellow Tibetan man continues to struggle to travel on the yellow book or is faced with accusations of being a traitor when they bear an Indian passport.

OUR QUESTION

Why is someone a traitor when they hold an Indian passport, but the Tibetan Prime Minister Sikyong Lobsang Sangay is not a traitor for having American citizenship? Just because they are in office does not mean that the Tibetan leadership are exempt from the law. It does not mean that they automatically deserve greater freedom of movement and greater freedom of travel as compared to their countrymen and women. At a time when everyone is struggling, it is even more important for the leaders to practise humility and not put themselves higher than everyone else. They are in this struggle with their people.

Why do they not work to lift the yellow book’s travel limitations for their entire community? If they were really serious about providing the best opportunities for their people, they should not allow anyone to be bullied and harassed, and made to feel guilty for taking on an Indian passport. The Tibetan leadership should issue a statement to absolve Indian passport holders of any accusations of being anti-Tibetan. But the problem is if they were to say something, they risk being questioned about their own travel documents and it will come to light just how much benefits and privileges they receive, while the rest of the Tibetan community continue to struggle.

[2] Dorje Shugden

Some of the biggest double standards exhibited by the Tibetan leadership have been related to the Dorje Shugden issue. The practice was banned in 1996 and since that time, while the Tibetan leadership preaches democracy and freedom, their actions towards Shugden practitioners have been anything but.

The Tibetan leadership have taken every opportunity to talk about, degrade and demonize the practice. In 2014 for example, His Holiness the Dalai Lama devoted 27 minutes of his teaching while he was in Sera Monastery to speak against Dorje Shugden. That is just one example and many other lamas have done the same. The point is, those many hundreds of hours that they devoted to this type of talk could have been spent giving actual Dharma teachings. And not only did Dharamsala encourage them to speak in this way, but the Tibetan leaders have also spent money on anti-Shugden websites, anti-Shugden documentaries, and anti-Shugden publications and books.

OUR QUESTION

Is this the behavior of a supposedly Buddhist government, to waste sponsors’ money on anti-anything projects when the same funds could be channelled instead towards the welfare of the Tibetan community by building more schools and hospitals? What about using the money to invite and pay for good Indian doctors to treat the older, sick monks? Tuberculosis, diabetes and high blood pressure are rampant amongst the older generation of monks. The Tibetan leadership, who claims to be Buddhist, should address this and stop focusing on withholding treatment from Dorje Shugden practitioners. They should stop using funds given by well-meaning sponsors, to bully Shugden practitioners into giving up the practice.

On the one hand, the Tibetan leadership portrays themselves to be a suffering, downtrodden leadership being bullied by a greater power. On the other hand, with the money that they raise from pretending to be a downtrodden leadership, they waste these funds to suppress and ostracize a group of people. How can they claim to be bullied, when all along they have been the ones doing the bullying?

[3] Is China Friend or Foe?

One of the Tibetan leadership’s most glaring double standards concerns their relationship with China, which is surprising considering the fact Dharamsala blames all of their troubles and obstacles on the Chinese leadership.

In 2016, after months of promoting an inaccurate Reuters article which tried to link Dorje Shugden’s practice to China, Dharamsala followed up by releasing their own anti-Shugden video. In the video, the Tibetan Prime Minister Sikyong Lobsang Sangay and Dhardon Sharling alleged that Dorje Shugden practitioners are funded by the Chinese leadership. Note that although they did not provide any proof to substantiate their claims, they were adamant that there is a link. It was thus implied very strongly that Dorje Shugden practitioners are traitors because they have Chinese connections.

So you can imagine everyone’s surprise when just one day after the Tibetan leadership released this video, the department headed by Dhardon Sharling announced a workshop had been organized to teach Tibetans how to befriend the Chinese. In the space of 24 hours, they were now encouraging people to make Chinese connections when literally just the day before, anyone with these connections was a traitor.

In fact, having connections with China has always been a conveniently selective affair. If the Tibetan in question is the Dalai Lama, a non-Gelug practitioner or a favorite of the political establishment, then a relationship with the Chinese leadership is not a problem. For anyone else however, this relationship or the potential of a relationship will be used to demonize and ostracize them from everyone else.

Amchok Rinpoche (seated with glasses) in a recent photo taken in Tibet. He has clearly been unaffected by his defection back to Tibet. How come there were no calls for him as a traitor? Surely as the Dalai Lama’s personal biographer, he would be most effective in his job by being next to the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan leadership must be very embarrassed by his defection, because they have not issued statements announcing that he betrayed the Dalai Lama and labelling him a traitor.

Take, for example, Amchok Rinpoche, the Dalai Lama’s personal biographer. He defected, left Dharamsala and returned to Tibet and upon his arrival, he immediately received Chinese citizenship. The speed at which he received his travel documents and citizenship is proof positive that he had Chinese connections before he left India but no mention is ever made of this and the whole Tibetan leadership stays silent.

Simultaneously, other lamas like the late Akong Rinpoche are actually based in China but no criticism are ever directed their way despite their very obvious Chinese connections. It is impossible to believe that Akong Rinpoche could have been based in Chengdu, China for so many years and not receive one single cent from a Chinese citizen. Even His Holiness the Dalai Lama receives money from the Chinese leadership! Yet he is never criticized for being funded by them. We are not asking for these teachers to be criticized for their Chinese connections, but rather questioning the Tibetan leadership’s double standards in applying their policies when it comes to different individuals.

OUR QUESTION

So which one is it? Is it evil to receive money from the Chinese leadership or not? If it is evil for Dorje Shugden practitioners to allegedly receive funding, then it is also evil for anyone else including Amchok Rinpoche, Akong Rinpoche and even His Holiness the Dalai Lama. But how come Dorje Shugden practitioners are targeted for so-called Chinese links, when other people who have very obvious links are not targeted in the same way?

How can the Tibetan people trust a leadership who has no clear stance, view or strategy on how to accomplish their political goals? On something so fundamental as a relationship with China, the Prime Minister and his sidekick cannot decide what is good and what is bad. It is little wonder that the Tibetan leadership have failed to initiate dialogue with China, when they themselves are unclear about their own relationship with China. You cannot spend decades calling the Chinese leadership every derogatory name under the sun, then organize a workshop teaching Tibetans how to befriend the Chinese and expect those methods to be successful.

[4] The Tale of Two Karmapas

Within Tibetan Buddhism, there are four major traditions – the Gelugs, the Kagyus, Nyingmas and Sakyas. Due to interference from the Tibetan leadership, each school is now facing a very divisive set of issues. The Gelugs have to deal with the Dorje Shugden issue, while the Sakyas are dealing with the change of succession process for their throneholder. A branch of the Kagyus, known as the Drukpa Kagyus, are dealing with the illegal takeover of their monasteries while Karma Kagyus are dealing with the conflict because they have two throneholders (known as the Karmapa).

Urgyen Trinley, one of the two Karmapa candidates, and the person endorsed by the Tibetan leadership. Their endorsement of him as the real Karmapa is out of the ordinary and not keeping with the Karma Kagyu tradition of recognizing their own candidates. The CTA’s interference in the matter has led to the Karma Kagyu sect being deeply divided.

The search and recognition of the new Karmapa incarnation has always been conducted by the regents of the Karma Kagyu lineage – the Tai Situ, the Sharmapa, Jamgon Kongtrul and Gyaltsab Rinpoche. After Dharamsala interfered with the recognition of the 17th Karmapa, which you can read about here, it resulted in the identification of two candidates. Since that time, the Karma Kagyu lineage has been split into two, with one half supporting Urgyen Trinley (Dharamsala’s choice) and the other supporting Thaye Dorje (the choice of the Sharmapa, who has historically been the person most directly involved in the process).

Because the Tibetan leadership has made an obvious choice in their preferred Karmapa candidate, their decision has been used to discriminate against Thaye Dorje. He has been called the false Karmapa by Urgyen Trinley’s supporters, who use the fact Dharamsala supports their candidate as proof that Urgyen Trinley is the real and authentic Karmapa. And because Dharamsala allowed this issue to escalate, and because they did not say anything to appease either side, violence descended upon Rumtek Monastery, the historical seat of the Karma Kagyus. The Indian police had to step in to quell the violence and the courts ruled that neither Karmapa is allowed to take up residence or be enthroned in Rumtek. It is a ruling which stands to this day, and armed Indian police still continue to patrol the monastic grounds to prevent any further sectarian violence.

OUR QUESTION

Is the Tibetan leadership a secular government or a spiritual one? If they are secular, then why did they get involved with a spiritual matter like the head of the Karma Kagyus? Once they got involved and divisions were created thanks to their interference, they should not have remained silent when violence erupted in Rumtek. They should have spoken up immediately and firmly requested their people to stop fighting and to respect one another.

The other Karmapa candidate, Thaye Dorje who, although has not been endorsed by the Tibetan leadership, was recognized and educated by the Sharmapa, a Karma Kagyu lama who has historically been the closest and most involved with the recognition of any Karmapa incarnations.

And if they are spiritual, why did they create schism instead of respect the Karma Kagyu’s traditions and systems? If they are a spiritual leadership, they should have immediately stopped showing their support for one Karmapa candidate, thereby degrading the other side’s choice. The fact is that the Tibetan leadership are unclear what they are; if they are secular, they have not been governing their people to maintain peace and prevent violence and if they are spiritual, they have been creating schism amongst the various traditions which is contrary to truly spiritual behaviour. Being vague and having double standards suits them because when they have created the schism and division, everyone will be too busy discussing and focusing on that to question Dharamsala about their goals, methods and motivation.

[5] Tibetan Democracy is a Farce

Ultimately, nothing the Tibetan leadership says can be trusted. They label themselves a Buddhist government, yet they create schism, disharmony and worst still, violence in their community. They label themselves a democracy, yet they destroy all the hallmarks of a democracy. With the Tibetan settlements, there is:

no freedom of speech. Newspapers like Mangtso who publish views that do not align with or support the leadership’s views are violently harassed into shutting down.

no freedom of thought. Even school children who dare to ask questions of the Tibetan leadership are pulled aside after the event, to be interrogated and reprimanded for daring to question the Prime Minister.

no freedom of movement. The ordinary Tibetan struggles to get paperwork to allow him to travel freely, while the leadership hold dual citizenship or two sets of travelling papers, breaking the law but never face any kind of repercussion for this.

what is essentially a one-party system with no independent candidates. Within Tibetan society, it is also guaranteed that anyone who challenges the status quo will have their reputations and livelihoods destroyed. In the 2016 Sikyong elections, the independent candidate Lukar Jam was frozen out of the second round of voting. Midway through the election, the Election Commission (the body responsible for maintaining a fair election) changed the rules in order to exclude him. Subsequently, Lukar Jam was accused of being anti-Dalai Lama and has had his property vandalized. Even groups who are legally entitled to Parliamentary representation, like the Jonangpas, are denied it when the Parliament takes a vote against their inclusion in the Tibetan Parliament in Exile.

Given such living conditions, and in any other circumstance, the Tibetan leadership would be called dictatorial or authoritarian. However, because they are THE Tibetan refugee community and THE Dalai Lama is a part of them, no one thinks to look at them in such a way. And Tibetan leadership are happy to make use of the Dalai Lama’s reputation to divert the attention and hide their own inadequacies, to line their own pockets and continue exploiting the accepting nature of the Tibetan people who have, over centuries, been beaten down into submission to never think or dare to question those in charge.

Conclusion

What the Tibetan leadership have been slow to realize is that 60 years ago, they set their people on the path to division, disharmony and failure. They did this by encouraging different groups to split, therefore weakening the people’s power by making them disagree on any topics that they might otherwise find common ground on. While this ‘divide and conquer’ tactic was enforced to solidify the leadership’s position, the overall result is an ineffectual leadership governing a community so used to disagreeing with one another, that they have made little real progress in any issues since 1959.

How much longer can the Tibetan Prime Minister Sikyong Lobsang Sangay keep up his pretence of supporting the Dalai Lama when in reality, his actions are contrary to the Dalai Lama’s teachings on unity and harmony among the Tibetan people?

A casual observer will easily conclude that the Tibetan leadership’s karma is coming back to them by splits being created everywhere. On the topic that affects the most Tibetans – that is, their political causes – there is total destabilization and disagreement now. The entire community is split between rangzen (full independence) and the Dalai Lama’s umaylam (meaningful autonomy), meaning even on the Tibetan community’s largest and most fundamental issue, they have no consensus.

Without a consensus, how will they ever move forwards to initiate dialogue with China when they do not even know what they want? Consider the Chinese leadership and their united stance on Tibet, and compare that to the Tibetans who all bear different opinions. While the Chinese are firm and every official sings the same tune, the Tibetans flip-flop on everything. They are only ever firm about destroying their opponents.

And that is precisely why the CTA will never get anywhere. It is time that the CTA realize that they have more pressing challenges brought about by external sources than compared to internal ones, and they should stop making further problems amongst their own people. They should stop looking outside to blame others for their failures because in doing so, their real problems are never addressed and resolved. Hence, 60 years after the first Tibetans entered exile, the community has made almost no headway in their so-called struggle.

But it is not too late. Parts of the world continue to be enamored by His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s charm, and are still somewhat willing to be seduced by his self-effacing, disarming nature. So it is definitely not too late for the Tibetan leadership to stop enforcing double standards and hypocrisy with their people, and work to undo the damage of the last 60 years. Do this while they still have the Dalai Lama’s reputation to rely on for fundraising because once that is gone, they can kiss goodbye any chance of a productive and effective leadership.

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When mention about refuges, we cannot deny that the most well known refugees is Tibetan, and they are still refugees after 60 years. Their leader is so good to make them so well known to draw attention and received lots of donation from all over the world, but their people still continued to suffer without any improvement of their living standards. So, don’t you curious about how the CTA used the fund?

Next, instead of improving the standard living of their people, they diverted their failure by stop people from practicing the Dorje Shugden protector and cause disharmony, schism among the Tibetan. Why created so much segregation and disharmony among own people? Are CTA afraid that all Tibetan will unite as one and against them and they will losing power? How about the self-immolations which were held in support of independence? The truth is CTA refused to condemn self-immolations. The one who always enjoy the good benefits will be the leaders(CTA) and their people will always have nightmare. Would you still support and tolerate such leadership?

Sad to know that the reason of Tibetans in India are meant to be remained as refugees in order to keep the donation flow going. Hence no one allowed to leave the camp. So much difficulties and blames have to bear just to get the Inda citizenship, not even China. So much of unreasonable blames, being put down, segregation, discrimination and being mistreated just because of we are Dorje Shugden practioners. So there’s no democracy in Tibetan exile. Tibetans in India now have more freedom than India ??

Yet CTA people and HHDL people can easily have US passport, china citizenship , made friends and received donation from China which means they are not even Tibetans anymore😅, but that’s FINE!! Why double standard? There’s always double standard in Tibet back before 1956. So nothing changed! People are remaining poor and suffer in India and being used as cash cow for the CTA.

CTA is giving excuses which are illogical for themselves to have foreign passports etc., if they really need to work at outstation and they will need a foreign passport to travel conveniently for works instead of using YELLOW BOOK & USA passport, it’ll make more sense if they are having an INDIAN passport! They are the real 🕴traitors🕴 of Tibet! 👁

CTA having double standed rulering system is clearly big failure for Tibet freedom. That is truth and undeniable. This is the clear result after 60 year tibetan exile gorvernment have to learn the lesson. If people in power are still greedy in money. Then tibetan exile will remand as refugee and suffer in exile forever.

What will the all the people around the world and in Tibet do now? Dalai Lama says he is happy that Tibet is a part of China and should remain a part of China. So many Tibetans self-immolated for Tibet to be independent and now Dalai Lama did a 360 degree turn and says he wants to go back to Tibet and China and Tibet should be a part of China. So unbelievable. So many are angry and disappointed.

Tibetans ready to be part of China: Dalai Lama
Organised by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), the event was a part of “Thank You India – 2018″ held by the Tibetan community across India to mark 60 years of its exile in the country.
Indo-Asian News Service
Bengaluru
Tibetans are ready to be a part of China if guaranteed full rights to preserve their culture, the Dalai Lama said on Friday.
“Tibetans are not asking for independence. We are okay with remaining with the People’s Republic of China, provided we have full rights to preserve our culture,” the 83-year-old spiritual leader said at “Thank You Karnataka” event here in the city.
Organised by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), the event was a part of “Thank You India – 2018″ held by the Tibetan community across India to mark 60 years of its exile in the country.
“Several of Chinese citizens practicing Buddhism are keen on Tibetan Buddhism as it is considered scientific,” the Nobel laureate said.
Born in Taktser hamlet in northeastern Tibet, the Dalai Lama was recognized at the age of two as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso. He fled to India from Tibet after a failed uprising against the Chinese rule in 1959.
China annexed Tibet in 1950, forcing thousands of Tibetans, including monks, to flee the mountain country and settle in India as refugees.
Since then, India has been home to over 100,000 Tibetans majorly settled in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh among other states.https://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/india/tibetans-ready-to-be-part-of-china-dalai-lama/293109.html

Since you started the cruel ban against the 350 year Dorje Shugden practice, how has it benefit your Tibetan society and Buddhism in the world? Things have become worse and most educated Tibetans can see this. They don’t speak out not because they don’t see your ban as wrong, but you instill fear in them and not respect. It is like fear of a dictator. I am sorry to say so. Everyone is divided. There is no harmony. Before your ban there was more harmony and unity.

By enacting the ban, you split the monasteries, split so many families, split regions in Tibet apart, split your disciples from you, split your own gurus from you, split Tibetan Buddhism apart. You have created so much disharmony.

It is not democratic what you have done to ban a religion within your community. You always talk of tolerance and acceptance and democracy and yet you do not accept and tolerate something different from your beliefs. When people practice Dorje Shugden you ostracize them, ban them from seeing you, ban them from using Tibetan facilities. You know you have done that. There are videos that capture your speech and prove this point. You even had people expelled from monasteries just because they practice Dorje Shugden. Some of the monks you expelled have been in the monastery for over 40 years. Many older monks shed tears because of this.

Many young educated Tibetans lost confidence in you as they saw the damage the Dorje Shugden ban created and they lose hope. Many have become free thinkers. They reject what you have done. So many people in the west left Buddhism because of the confusion you created with this ban against Dorje Shugden which is immoral.

You could of had millions of people who practice Dorje Shugden to support, love and follow you, but you scared them away. They are hurt and very disappointed. They loved you and respected you deeply before the ban. It has been 60 years and you have failed to get Tibet back. Your biggest failure is not getting Tibet back after 57 years in exile. Now you are begging China to allow you to return to Tibet to the disappointment of thousands of people who fought for a free Tibet believing in you. So many self-immolated for a free Tibet and now you want Tibet to be a part of China with no referendum from Tibetans. Just like a dictator, you decide on your own. It was your government and you that lost Tibet in the first place. Your policies and style of doing things do not benefit Tibet and Buddhism. You have been the sole ruler of Tibet your whole life and you still have not gotten our country of Tibet back for us. Our families and us are separated. Yet you create more pain by creating a ban to further divide people. Please have compassion.

No other Buddhist leader has banned or condemned any religion except for you. It looks very bad. You are a Nobel laureate and this is not fitting of a laureate. You should unite people and not separate them by religious differences.

You said Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi did not do right to the Rohingya people in Myanmar due to religious differences, but you are doing the same thing to the Shugden Buddhists within your own society. There is a parallel in this. You separate the Shugden Buddhists from the others in Tibetan society.

You have lost so many people who would have loved and supported you. You have lost so much support around the world. The Shugden Buddhists who love you number in the millions. When you are fast losing support from governments and private people, it will not do you well to lose more.

After you are passed away in the future, the rift you created between the Dorje Shugden and non-Dorje Shugden people will remain for a while and that will be your legacy. Disharmony. You will be remembered for this. Not as a hero but a disharmony creator.

Dorje Shugden will spread and further grow, but you will be no more as you are a human. No one wishes you bad and in fact we hope you have a long and healthy life, but we have lost so much hope and have so much despair because of you. All the hundreds of Dorje Shugden lamas, tulkus and geshes are maturing and there are hundreds of Dorje Shugden monasteries in Tibet who will not give up Dorje Shugden. You have made a mistake. These hundreds of teachers and teachers to be will spread Dorje Shugden further in the future.

The gurus that gave us Dorje Shugden as a spiritual practice and you have called these holy gurus wrong and they are mistaken in giving us Dorje Shugden. How can you insult our gurus whom we respect so much? If they can be wrong, then you can be wrong. Then all gurus can be wrong. So no one needs to listen to any guru? You have created this trend. It is not healthy. Your own gurus practiced Dorje Shugden their whole lives. Your own gurus were exemplary and highly learned.

Dalai Lama you have created so much pain with this ban against so many people due to religion. You are ageing fast. Are you going to do anything about it or stay stubborn, hard and un-moving. You show a smile and preach peace and harmony wherever you go. But will you do the same to your own people? Please rectify the wrong you have done. Please before it is too late. You can create harmony again or you can pass away in the future with this legacy of peace. May you live long and think carefully and admit what was a mistake in having this unethical ban against Dorje Shugden religion.

Why doesn’t the United States and its allies end Refugee Status for the useless Tibetans? They have been refugees for 60 years now and don’t tell me they still cannot get their lives back in order?

Tibetans really know how to put on a good show and use people, take their money and do nothing in return.

Trump and Allies Seek End to Refugee Status for Millions of Palestinians
In internal emails, Jared Kushner advocated a “sincere effort to disrupt” the U.N.’s relief agency for Palestinians.
BY COLUM LYNCH, ROBBIE GRAMER | AUGUST 3, 2018, 2:12 PM
Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, has quietly been trying to do away with the U.N. relief agency that has provided food and essential services to millions of Palestinian refugees for decades, according to internal emails obtained by Foreign Policy.
His initiative is part of a broader push by the Trump administration and its allies in Congress to strip these Palestinians of their refugee status in the region and take their issue off the table in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, according to both American and Palestinian officials. At least two bills now making their way through Congress address the issue.
Kushner, whom Trump has charged with solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has been reluctant to speak publicly about any aspect of his Middle East diplomacy. A peace plan he’s been working on with other U.S. officials for some 18 months has been one of Washington’s most closely held documents.
But his position on the refugee issue and his animus toward the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is evident in internal emails written by Kushner and others earlier this year.
“It is important to have an honest and sincere effort to disrupt UNRWA,” Kushner wrote about the agency in one of those emails, dated Jan. 11 and addressed to several other senior officials, including Trump’s Middle East peace envoy, Jason Greenblatt.
“This [agency] perpetuates a status quo, is corrupt, inefficient and doesn’t help peace,” he wrote.
The United States has helped fund UNRWA since it was formed in 1949 to provide relief for Palestinians displaced from their homes following the establishment of the State of Israel and ensuing international war. Previous administrations have viewed the agency as a critical contributor to stability in the region.
But many Israel supporters in the United States today see UNRWA as part of an international infrastructure that has artificially kept the refugee issue alive and kindled hopes among the exiled Palestinians that they might someday return home—a possibility Israel flatly rules out.
Critics of the agency point in particular to its policy of granting refugee status not just to those who fled Mandatory Palestine 70 years ago but to their descendants as well—accounting that puts the refugee population at around 5 million, nearly one-third of whom live in camps across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, and Gaza.
By trying to unwind UNRWA, the Trump administration appears ready to reset the terms of the Palestinian refugee issue in Israel’s favor—as it did on another key issue in December, when Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
In the same January email, Kushner wrote: “Our goal can’t be to keep things stable and as they are. … Sometimes you have to strategically risk breaking things in order to get there.”
Kushner raised the refugee issue with officials in Jordan during a visit to the region in June, along with Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt. According to Palestinian officials, he pressed the Jordan to strip its more than 2 million registered Palestinians of their refugee status so that UNRWA would no longer need to operate there.
“[Kushner said] the resettlement has to take place in the host countries and these governments can do the job that UNRWA was doing,” said Hanan Ashrawi, a member of Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
She said the Trump administration wanted rich Arab Gulf states to cover the costs Jordan might incur in the process.
“They want to take a really irresponsible, dangerous decision and the whole region will suffer,” Ashrawi said.
Saeb Erekat, the Palestinians’ chief negotiator, told reporters in June that Kushner’s delegation had said it was ready to stop funding UNRWA altogether and instead direct the money—$300 million annually—to Jordan and other countries that host Palestinian refugees.
“All this is actually aimed at liquidating the issue of the Palestinian refugees,” hesaid.
The White House declined to comment on the record for this story. A senior executive branch official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said U.S. policy regarding the U.N.’s Palestinian refugee program “has been under frequent evaluation and internal discussion. The administration will announce its policy in due course.”
Jordanian officials in New York and Washington did not respond to queries about the initiative.
Kushner and Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, both proposed ending funding for UNRWA back in January. But the State Department, the Pentagon, and the U.S. intelligence community all opposed the idea, fearing in part that it could fuel violence in the region.
The following week, the State Department announced that that United States would cut the first $125 million installment of its annual payment to UNRWA by more than half, to $60 million.
“UNRWA has been threatening us for six months that if they don’t get a check they will close schools. Nothing has happened,” Kushner wrote in the same email.
State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said at the time that the U.S. had no intention of eliminating funding for Palestinian refugees, and that it was taking time to explore ways to reform UNRWA and to convince other countries to help Washington shoulder the financial burden of aiding the Palestinians.
But the following day, Victoria Coates, a senior advisor to Greenblatt, sent an email to the White House’s national security staff indicating that the White House was mulling a way to eliminate the U.N.’s agency for Palestinian refugees.
“UNRWA should come up with a plan to unwind itself and become part of the UNHCR by the time its charter comes up again in 2019,” Coates wrote.
She noted that the proposal was one of a number of “spitball ideas that I’ve had that are also informed by some thoughts I’ve picked up from Jared, Jason and Nikki.”
Other ideas included a suggestion that the U.N. relief agency be asked to operate on a month-to-month budget and devise “a plan to remove all anti-Semitism from educational materials.”
The ideas seemed to track closely with proposals Israel has been making for some time.
“We believe that UNRWA needs to pass from the world as it is an organization that advocates politically against Israel and perpetuates the Palestinian refugee problem,” said Elad Strohmayer, a spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington.
Strohmayer said that Palestinians are the only population that is able to transfer its refugee status down through generations.
The claim, though long advanced by Israel, is not entirely true.
In an internal report from 2015, the State Department noted that the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees “recognizes descendants of refugees as refugees for purposes of their operations.” The report, which was recently declassified, said the descendants of Afghan, Bhutanese, Burmese, Somali, and Tibetan refugees are all recognized by the U.N. as refugees themselves.
Of the roughly 700,000 original Palestinian refugees, only a few tens of thousands are still alive, according to estimates.
The push to deny the status to most Palestinians refugees is also gaining traction in Congress.
Last week, Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Republican from Colorado, introduced a bill that would limit the United States to assisting only the original refugees. Most savings in U.N. contributions would be directed to the U.S. Agency for International Development, the United States’ principal international development agency. But USAID is currently constrained by the Taylor Force Act, which restricts the provision of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian Authority until it ends a policy of providing aid to families of fallen terrorists.
“Instead of resettling Palestinian refugees displaced as a result of the Arab-Israeli Conflict of 1948, UNRWA provides aid to those they define as Palestinian refugees until there is a solution they deem acceptable to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Lamborn’s bill states.
“This policy does not help resettle the refugees from 1948 but instead maintains a refugee population in perpetuity.”
A congressional aide familiar with the legislation said its intent isn’t to gut UNRWA funding, but redirect assistance to descendants through USAID.
“The people that are suffering should still get assistance, but through appropriately defined humanitarian channels and aid programs,” the aide said.
Similarly, Sen. James Lankford, (R-Okla.), has drafted legislation that would redirect U.S. funding away from UNRWA and to other local and international agencies.
The bill, which has not yet officially been introduced, would require the U.S. secretary of state certify by 2020 that the United Nations has ended its recognition of Palestinian descendants as refugees.
“The United Nations should provide assistance to the Palestinians in a way that makes clear that the United Nations does not recognize the vast majority of Palestinians currently registered by UNRWA as refugees deserving refugee status,” reads a draft obtained by Foreign Policy.
Previous U.S. administrations have maintained that the vast majority of Palestinian refugees will ultimately have to be absorbed in a new Palestinian state or naturalized in the countries that have hosted them for generations.
But the fate of the refugee issue was expected to be agreed to as part of a comprehensive peace pact that resulted in the establishment of a Palestinian state.
“It’s very clear that the overarching goal here is to eliminate the Palestinian refugees as an issue by defining them out of existence,” said Lara Friedman, the president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace.
“This isn’t going to make peace any easier. It’s going to make it harder.”https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/08/03/trump-palestinians-israel-refugees-unrwaand-allies-seek-end-to-refugee-status-for-millions-of-palestinians-united-nations-relief-and-works-agency-unrwa-israel-palestine-peace-plan-jared-kushner-greenb/

Supreme Court of India JUSTICE Mr. MARKANDEY KATJU (RETD) writes that Tibet is much better under the Chinese than it was under the lamas who only wanted to make the populace slaves. It was feudal and it will never return to the backwardness again.

Time has come to acknowledge that Tibet has vastly improved under Chinese rule
JUSTICE MARKANDEY KATJU (RETD) | 12 August, 2018
From a terribly poor state hinged on a feudal system, Tibet has modernised and grows faster than the rest of China
This article has been prompted by Jyoti Malhotra’s article in ThePrint ‘Tibetan government quietly changed its PM’s designation. India won’t be unhappy about it‘.
China’s annexation of Tibet in 1959, ousting the Dalai Lama, had attracted it worldwide criticism. The Dalai Lama fled and was granted asylum in India, where he set up a government-in-exile with its headquarters in Dharamshala.
The Chinese claim Tibet on the grounds that it has been part of the country since the Yuan dynasty of the 13th century, which is disputed by the government-in-exile. But let us leave this that matter aside.
The more important question is whether Chinese rule has benefited Tibet.
The answer is that it undoubtedly has. As the Reuters’ Ben Blanchard writes: “Today Tibet is richer and more developed than it has ever been, its people healthier, more literate, better dressed and fed”.
Although Ben goes on to argue that this development masks “a deep sense of unhappiness among many Tibetans”, I will disagree. How can anyone be unhappy if s/he is healthier, better fed and better clothed?
Under the rule of the Dalai Lamas (Buddhist priests), the people of Tibet were terribly poor, almost entirely illiterate, and lived like feudal serfs.
Today, Tibet presents a totally different picture. The illiteracy rate in Tibet has gone down from 95 per cent in the 1950s to 42 per cent in 2000. It has modern schools, universities, engineering and medical colleges, modern hospitals, freeways, supermarkets, fast food restaurants, mobile stores and apartment buildings. The capital Lhasa is like any other modern city.
While the economic growth in the rest of China has slowed down to about 7 per cent, Tibet has had a 10 per cent growth rate in the last two decades.
Tibet has huge mineral wealth, which was only awaiting Chinese technology to be tapped. Nowadays, it has numerous hydro and solar power plants and industries running with Chinese help.
Tibetan literature is flourishing, contrary to claims that the Chinese want to crush Tibetan culture.
Of course, now the lamas cannot treat their people as slaves.
The so-called ‘government-in-exile’, of which Lobsang Sangay claims to be the President, is a fake organisation, funded by foreign countries. They only want to restore the feudal Tibet, ruled by the reactionary lamas, something which will never happen.The writer is a former judge of the Supreme Court of Indiahttps://theprint.in/opinion/time-has-come-to-acknowledge-that-tibet-has-vastly-improved-under-chinese-rule/97172/

While the government of Nepal has framed a policy to tighten the noose around non-governmental organisations, they have welcomed 30 Chinese NGOs to enter the country. These NGOs will penetrate the country’s social sector at the grassroots level. This is the first time such a large number of Chinese NGOs have entered Nepal at one time. Nepal is increasingly open to Chinese influence, a sign that ties between both countries are strengthening, while India’s influence is being reduced. The time has passed for India’s monopoly to remain uninterrupted in Nepal as opportunities to engage with China are being welcomed.

30 Chinese NGOs all set to work in Nepal
REWATI SAPKOTA
Kathmandu, July 30
At a time when the government has framed a policy to tighten the noose around non-governmental organisations, 30 Chinese NGOs have entered Nepal to penetrate the country’s social sector and the grassroots.
The Social Welfare Council Nepal and China NGO Network for International Exchanges, an umbrella body of Chinese NGOs, have signed a memorandum of understanding to enable Chinese NGOs to work in Nepal. The agreement was signed yesterday between SWCN Member Secretary Dilli Prasad Bhatt and CNIE General Secretary Zhu Rui in the presence of Minister of Women, Children and Senior Citizen Tham Maya Thapa and Chinese Deputy Minister of External Affairs Wang Yajun.
The agreement has paved the way for the first batch of 30 Chinese NGOs to work in Nepal for a period of three years. Their contract will be extended based on the consent of SWCN and CNIE. Representatives of these 30 Chinese NGOs were also present during yesterday’s signing ceremony. They have agreed to work in partnership with local NGOs to implement their programmes and projects.
The Chinese NGOs are eyeing areas such as livelihood, healthcare, education, skill-based training, community development and disaster management. This is the first time such a large number of Chinese NGOs has entered Nepal at one time. The Chinese assistance so far in Nepal has largely been limited to development of infrastructure projects. But the entry of these NGOs indicates China is keen on making its presence felt in Nepal’s social sector and the grassroots, which, till date, have remained domains of the West and countries such as Japan and India.
The MoU signed between SWCN and CNIE states that Chinese NGOs will be mobilised for ‘the benefit of needy Nepalis and to enhance ties between China and Nepal through people-to-people support programmes’.
“The Chinese NGOs will abide by the law of Nepal in its entirety while carrying out development cooperation in Nepal,” says the MoU, adding, “Chinese NGOs will submit programmes to the SWCN to carry out development activities in partnership with Nepali NGOs and SWCN in line with plans and policies of the government of Nepal.”
The MoU was signed at a time when the government has drafted the National Integrity Policy to limit activities of NGOs and INGOs, as some of them were found ‘trying to break communal harmony and proselytising Nepalis’. There were also concerns that high administrative cost of many NGOs and INGOs was preventing money from reaching the real beneficiaries. The policy clearly states that NGOs and INGOs cannot spend more than specified amount under administrative and consultant headings. They will also be barred from working against Nepal’s interests, culture and communal harmony and conducting activities to promote their religious, social or other agenda, adds the policy.
Around 48,000 NGOs are currently registered in Nepal, of which only 1,600 have been receiving funds from INGOs, as per SWCN. The SWCN has directed INGOs and NGOs to spend 60 per cent of the budget to generate tangible results, while the remaining can be used to cover administrative costs and organise training, meetings and seminars.https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/30-chinese-ngos-all-set-to-work-in-nepal/

The cracks in Tibetan society are starting to show, and it is now coming to the attention of local Indians who have all but identified the Tibetan leadership as the source of the divisions. According to this author, disunity amongst the Tibetans is now creating problems for Indian law enforcement agencies, and this disunity may culminate in young Tibetans holding silent grudges against their host country. It is incredible that after six decades of generosity from India, Indians are now facing the very real possibility Tibetans can be ungrateful towards India. The Tibetan leadership totally failed to impart positive values upon their exiled community, like gratitude for those kindest to them and the need to repay these kindnesses with real, tangible results. It’s also very unlikely that the Tibetan leadership will now start to do this, after six decades of failing to do so. Indians need to realise this, and see that there is no benefit for their nation to align themselves with the Tibetan leadership, and there never will be.Tibetan disunity not in India’s interest
John S. Shilshi
Updated: August 7, 2018, 11:00 AM
India is home to the Dalai Lama and an estimated 120,000 Tibetan refugees. Though this humanitarian gesture on India’s part comes at the cost of risking New Delhi’s relations with China, India has never wavered in ensuring that Tibetans live with dignity and respect. Notified settlements across the country were made available so that they can live as independently as possible and practice Tibetan religion and culture. They are also allowed to establish centres of higher learning in Tibetan Buddhism. As a result, several reputed Buddhist institutes came up in Karnataka, and in the Indian Himalayan belt. In what may be termed as a gesture well reciprocated, and because of the respect and influence His Holiness the Dalai Lama commands, the Tibetan diaspora also lived as a peaceful community, rarely creating problems for India’s law enforcement agencies.
The situation, however, changed from 2000 onwards when unity amongst Tibetans suffered some setback due to developments like the Karmapa succession controversy and the controversy over worshiping of Dorje Shugden. In a unique case of politics getting the better of religion, two senior monks of the Karma kargyue sect of Tibetan Buddhism, Tai Situ Rinpoche and late Shamar Rinpoche, developed serious differences after the demise of Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, the 16th Karmapa, in 1981. This animosity ultimately led to emergence of two 17th Karmapa candidates in the early nineties. While Tai Situ Rinpoche identified and recognised UghyanThinley Dorje, late Shamar Rinpoche anointed Thinley Thaye Dorje as his Karmapa candidate. Enthronement of their respective protégés at the Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim, the supreme seat of the Karma Kargue linage, being their primary objective, both started indulging in activities monks normally are expected to, and bitterness spewed against each other.
The bitter rivalry assumed a new dimension when UghyenThinley Dorje suddenly appeared in India in January 2000. The competition became fiercer and hectic political lobbying, never known in the history of Tibetan Buddhism on Indian soil, became common place. Apart from pulling strings at their disposal in Sikkim as well as in the power corridors of New Delhi, these senior monks spat against each other with allegations and counter allegations, widening the gaps between their supporters. His Holiness the Dalai Lama, choosing to favour one of the candidates—a decision many Tibet watchers felt was ill-timed—had also limited possible scope of rapprochement. Hence, the Karma Kargyue followers are now vertically divided, while the camps are dragged into a long drawn legal battle.
Another development that unfortunately split the Tibetans is the controversy over Shugden worshipping, which again is an internal matter of the Gelugpa sect, to which the Dalai Lama belongs. It erupted as a result of the Dalai Lama urging Tibetans to refrain from worshiping Dorje Shugden, a deity believed to be a protector, according to Tibetan legend. Shugden practitioners, who felt offended by the call, describe it as an attack on freedom of religion, a right, which Dalai Lama himself tirelessly fought for. On the other hand, die hard Dalai Lama followers perceived the questioning of the decision as one challenging the wisdom of the Dalai Lama and mounted massive pressure on Dorje Shugden practitioners to relent, with some even demolishing the statues of the deity. The rivalry ultimately led to split in two Gelug monasteries in Karnataka, and Serpom and Shar Garden monasteries in Bylakupe and Mundgod respectively came under the control of Shugden followers. The bitterness associated with the split is exemplified by the fact that till today, members of these monasteries are treated as some sort of outcasts by the others. Thus, for the first time, the Tibetan diaspora in India gave birth to sections opposed to the Dalai Lama, with spillover effects in Tibet and elsewhere.
For India, with a fragile internal security profile, a divided Tibetan population on its soil is not good news. It has several long-term implications. It is common knowledge that China considers Dalai Lama as a secessionist, one plotting to divide their country. The latter’s claim of “all that Tibetans were asking for, was a status of genuine autonomy within the Constitution of the Peoples’ Republic of China”, had fallen into deaf ears. China also considers him as someone who plays to the Indian tune to tickle China. Therefore, at a time when China has successfully shrunk the Dalai Lama’s space internationally, India continuing to extend the usual space for him is viewed as complicity. Sharp reaction from China when he was allowed to visit Arunachal Pradesh in April 2017, is a recent example. Such being the delicate nature of India-China relations on matters and issues concerning Tibetans, India can hardly afford to ignore the division within the diaspora. Past experience of dubious elements from Tibet having succeeded in infiltrating the Central Tibetan Administration, including the security wing, should be a warning.
It is also time India understands the reason behind Tibetans seeking Indian passports, despite an existing arrangement for issue of Identity Certificates, which is passport equivalent. Some had even successfully taken recourse to legal remedy on the issue, and left the government of India red-faced. These changing moods should not be viewed as desires by Tibetans to become Indian citizens. They are triggered by the pathetic state of affairs associated with issuing of Identity Certificates, where delays in most cases are anything between six months to one year. Early streamlining of the process will drastically reduce their desire to hold Indian passport. It will also remove the wrongly perceived notion among some educated Tibetan youth, that the cumbersome process was a ploy by India to confine them in this country. While India should not shy from requesting the Dalai Lama to use his good offices to end all differences within the community in the interest of India’s internal security, it will also be necessary to ensure that young Tibetans do not nurse a silent grudge against the very country they called their second home.https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/opinion/tibetan-disunity-not-indias-interest

Although the Dalai Lama has offered an apology, the Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) still expressed their disappointment over his controversial comment on Nehru, the Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC). Dalai Lama called Nehru self-centred.

The Congress said Dalai Lama being a foreigner should shun and refrain from interfering in the internal as well as external affairs of India.

Dalai Lama should abstain from imparting controversial information to students: Arunachal Congress
Dalai Lama should know that a spiritual leader like him is shouldering great expectation: APCC
| DAMIEN LEPCHA | ITANAGAR | August 12, 2018 9:58 pm
disappointment over the recent statement made by Tibetan Spiritual Leader the 14th Dalai Lama in which he called Jawaharlal Nehru, the former Prime Minister of India as “self-centered” and the one responsible for parting India and Pakistan.
“Although Dalai Lama expressed regret over his controversial comment, the APCC is extremely thwarted by it. A Tibetan spiritual leader calling names to an Indian leader who sweated most to keep him and his followers safe from Chinese aggression is simply not acceptable. Today, India is home to lakhs of Tibetan refugees who are living in 37 settlements and 70 scattered communities across different states of India,” APCC vice-president Minkir Lollen said in a statement on Sunday.
“Dalai Lama may have forgotten that India provided a beam of light and hope to Tibetans remaining in Chinese-dominated Tibet and in the neighbouring Chinese provinces politically cut off from the Tibetan heart land. All these happened only because India has great leaders like Gandhi and Nehru who took the responsibility of social burden to shelter thousands of persecuted Tibetans then in 1959,” Lollen added.
Minkir said Dalai Lama should know that a spiritual leader like him is shouldering great expectation, hope and trust of millions on record and the same are watching his contribution towards the mankind.
“In such circumstances, Dalai Lama should abstain from imparting partial and controversial information to the students who are the torch bearer of the nation,” the Congress said.
Further stating that the statement of the spiritual leader could be a politically motivated one and made with an effort to approach Prime Minister Narendra Modi for survival of his continuation in the country, the Congress said Dalai Lama being a foreigner should shun and refrain from interfering in the internal as well as external affairs of India.https://nenow.in/north-east-news/dalai-lama-should-abstain-from-imparting-controversial-information.html

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.…Instead of turning away people who practise Dorje Shugden, we should be kind to them. Give them logic and wisdom without fear, then in time they give up the ‘wrong’ practice. Actually Shugden practitioners are not doing anything wrong. But hypothetically, if they are, wouldn’t it be more Buddhistic to be accepting? So those who have views against Dorje Shugden should contemplate this. Those practicing Dorje Shugden should forbear with extreme patience, fortitude and keep your commitments. The time will come as predicted that Dorje Shugden’s practice and it’s terrific quick benefits will be embraced by the world and it will be a practice of many beings.